NYC Restaurants: New Outdoor Dining Rules + Ferry Booze Edition

NEW YORK CITY — Prepare for a double-serving of news about eating and drinking outside in New York City.

The city unveiled new rules for outdoor dining and paved the way for buying alcohol yet again on the Staten Island Ferry this past week.

Those morsels of food news weren't the only delectable bites that Patch's tiny local newsroom served up.

Here's a tasting menu of food news, and come back next week for more.

The final menu of rules for New York City's permanent outdoor dining program — "Dining Out NYC " — is set.

Roadway dining setups — and not the enclosed structures that sprouted during the pandemic — will only be allowed eight months a year under the final rules unveiled by city officials Friday.

"The largest outdoor dining program in the country is here," said Meera Joshi, deputy mayor for operations, in a statement.

The Staten Island Ferry was the other big piece of outdoor gnoshing news.

Food and alcohol sales soon will return to the ferry, as city officials seek a refreshments vendor.

And restaurant owners want lawmakers to 86 a potential change in how tips count toward workers' wages.

Eliminating the tip credit would be a "disaster" said 88 percent of eatery owners polled in a survey.

• NYC Outdoor Dining's Final Rules: No More Sheds, Seasonal Road Cafes
• Booze Returns To Staten Island Ferry This Fall
• Tipping Law Will Be 'Disaster,' NYC Restaurant Owners Say

Lidl isn't done making news in the Big Apple.

After the cult European grocery chain recently opened its second Queens location, news came out that a massive Lidl location would open 2025 in Downtown Brooklyn.

Star chef Julian Medina is set to open yet another Upper East Side restaurant.

The Italian spot, Amarena, is slated to open Feb. 8.

Also opening Feb. 8 on the Upper East Side, a new spot called Wonder seeks to live up to its name.

The joint promises to offer an all-in-one cornucopia of food from some of the hottest restaurants from around the city and country.

And, in Brooklyn, the chef behind the celebrated Kingfisher eatery is going to helm the kitchen at a new Prospect Heights spot.

Faun is described as an American restaurant with Italian roots.

• Massive Lidl Supermarket Slated For Downtown Brooklyn
• New UES Italian Restaurant From Star Chef Set To Open Next Week
• Upper East Side 'Wonder' Restaurant Grand Opening Next Week
• Kingfisher Chef Joins Prospect Heights' Faun Restaurant

Health inspectors ordered restaurants closed across Manhattan this past week.

• NYC Restaurants Ordered Closed Jan. 26 - Feb. 2